Matt McKinney

As a roaming reporter for the Star Tribune, my assignments come from all across the region, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester to the Bois Forte Band in Tower, from the farm country Amish to up North fishermen. Special areas of interest include but are not limited to business fraud, sand mining, the Mayo Clinic's multi-billion-dollar expansion known as Destination Medical Center, crime, shoreline development and outstate news. Send tips and story ideas to me at mckinney@startribune.com

Farming in south-central Minnesota draws little attention beyond farm country, but a local business group hopes to change that on Monday with a bit of marketing magic. At a two-hour "celebration event" in Mankato, it will reveal the region's new name, which is being kept secret until then, and a website for the area designed to raise its public profile.

Trevor Shelley of St. Peter, Minn., was sentenced to five months in jail Friday for his role in a nearly-fatal street attack two years ago on Isaac Kolstad, the Mankato husband and father who was left with a severe brain injury.